Chapter 37: The Moonstone Gambit
The mental alarm from my Sensory clone hit like ice water at three in the morning. Katherine Pierce was in the Salvatore boarding house, moving through the shadows with predatory grace toward Damon's hidden vault.
"She's going for the moonstone," Sensory clone reported, his enhanced hearing picking up the subtle sounds of lockpicking. "Two minutes until she breaches the vault."
I rolled out of bed, my other clones materializing around me as I threw on clothes. The moonstone was the lynchpin of Klaus's ritual—without it, the hybrid curse couldn't be broken. But in Katherine's hands, it became a bargaining chip she could trade for her freedom.
My phone buzzed as I reached for it. Text from Stefan: "Katherine's here. Vault's compromised. Moonstone's gone."
Too late.
"She's heading southeast toward the old church," Sensory clone updated. "Moving fast but not using full vampire speed. She wants to be followed."
"It's a trap," I muttered, but started my car anyway. Trap or not, we needed that moonstone back.
I sent a group text as I drove: "Katherine has moonstone. Meeting at old church ruins. Bring everything."
The church cemetery looked like something from a Gothic nightmare under the pale moonlight. Broken headstones jutted from overgrown grass, and the ruined walls cast twisted shadows that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at them.
Katherine waited for me in the center of the destruction, perched on a fallen stone cross like a beautiful gargoyle. The moonstone glowed softly in her palm, its ancient power making the air around it shimmer.
"I knew you'd come, psychic boy," she called out, voice carrying that familiar mix of seduction and mockery. "Though I expected you to bring the cavalry."
"They're coming," I replied, my three clones spreading out in a tactical formation. "But we can settle this between us first."
Katherine laughed, the sound like breaking crystal. "How wonderfully naive. Do you really think your little shadow army can take the moonstone from a five-hundred-year-old vampire?"
Instead of answering, I activated all four mental links simultaneously.
My clones moved as one.
Mind Shield clone blurred forward with supernatural coordination, his Epic-tier affinity making him immune to Katherine's inevitable compulsion attempt. Defensive Shield clone threw up barriers to contain the fight, preventing Katherine from simply running away. Sensory clone fed me tactical data—heartbeat, breathing patterns, micro-expressions that telegraphed her next move.
But I was missing my fourth clone. The empty slot felt like a phantom limb, throwing off my coordination by just enough to matter.
Katherine moved like liquid violence, centuries of combat experience letting her flow between my clones' attacks with supernatural grace. She grabbed Mind Shield clone's arm and used his momentum to throw him into Defensive Shield clone's barrier, both of them crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs and shadows.
"Impressive coordination," she admitted, dancing away from Sensory clone's attempt to grab the moonstone. "But you're still fighting a master with apprentice-level power."
She was right. My clones were getting better, but Katherine had been killing people since before America was discovered.
That's when Bonnie arrived.
Power preceded her like a storm front, making the air itself feel electric. She'd been growing stronger since Grams' death, grief crystallizing into raw magical force that made ancient vampires take notice.
"Katherine Pierce," Bonnie said, her voice carrying harmonics that suggested she wasn't entirely alone in her body. "Release the moonstone."
Katherine's confident smirk faltered slightly. "Little Bennett witch. Come to play with forces you don't understand?"
"I understand enough."
Bonnie's hands began to glow with purple light, and Katherine's expression shifted from amusement to concern. Witches were the natural predators of vampires, and Bonnie was channeling power that felt ancestral.
The aneurysm spell hit Katherine like a sledgehammer to the brain. She screamed, dropping the moonstone as supernatural agony tore through her nervous system. My Mind Shield clone was already moving, snatching the glowing stone from the grass before Katherine could recover.
"Impressive teamwork," Katherine gasped, blood trickling from her nose. "But this isn't over, psychic boy. Klaus is coming, and when he arrives, you'll wish you'd stayed out of supernatural politics."
She vanished into the night, leaving behind only the scent of expensive perfume and old blood.
Bonnie collapsed to her knees, the magical backlash hitting her like a physical blow. I caught her before she could fall completely, the moonstone secure in my clone's grip.
"We make a good team," she mumbled against my shoulder.
"The best," I agreed, feeling the weight of the ancient artifact in my hand. "But this was the easy part."
[QUEST COMPLETED: RETRIEVE THE MOONSTONE]
[REWARD: +1,000 EXP, MAJOR STRATEGIC VICTORY]
[BONNIE BENNETT: PERFECT COORDINATION STATUS ACHIEVED]
[TOTAL EXP: 4,000/13,000 TO LEVEL 12]
An hour later, we sat in the Salvatore boarding house living room, the moonstone resting on the coffee table like a small star. Stefan, Damon, Elena, and Alaric had joined us, turning the strategy session into a supernatural war council.
"So what's the play?" Damon asked, pouring himself a bourbon. "Hide it? Destroy it? Use it as a paperweight?"
"We give it to Elijah," I said, ignoring the immediate protests from Stefan and Damon. "As a sign of good faith."
"Are you insane?" Stefan leaned forward, his usual composure cracking. "That moonstone is the only leverage we have against Klaus."
"No, it's the component he needs for the ritual," I corrected. "Keeping it just makes him desperate and dangerous. Giving it to Elijah shows we're committed to the controlled approach."
Damon slammed his glass down hard enough to crack the table. "Trusting Originals gets you killed, Sam. Every time."
Elena had been quiet throughout the argument, studying the moonstone like it held answers. Finally, she spoke.
"Sam's saved us multiple times," she said softly. "When he tells us to trust someone, I trust his judgment."
"Elena—" Stefan started.
"No." Her voice was firm. "I'm tired of being the victim in this. If giving Elijah the moonstone means controlling the ritual instead of being dragged through it, then that's what we do."
The room fell silent. Elena Gilbert had just chosen strategy over sentiment, and everyone could feel the shift.
[GROUP DYNAMICS: ELENA'S LEADERSHIP EMERGING]
[STEFAN'S OPPOSITION NOTED BUT OVERRULED]
[DAMON'S FRUSTRATION: CRITICAL LEVELS]
Elijah arrived within the hour, materializing in the living room with that supernatural silence that made even ancient vampires nervous. He studied the moonstone with obvious satisfaction.
"A gesture of good faith," he said, picking up the artifact. "I'm impressed, Mr. Barton. Most humans would hoard power rather than share it strategically."
"Most humans don't have to negotiate with Original vampires," I replied. "Consider it an investment in Elena's survival."
"Indeed." Elijah slipped the moonstone into his jacket pocket. "My brother arrives in four days. The ritual site will be prepared, the sacrificial volunteers secured. Miss Gilbert's protection spells will be in place."
"And if Klaus decides to deviate from the plan?" Stefan asked, tension radiating from every line of his body.
Elijah's smile was sharp as a blade. "Then he'll discover that some traditions are enforced by methods older than his hybrid nature."
After Elijah left, I found myself on the boarding house porch with Elena and Bonnie, the weight of what we'd accomplished settling over us like a blanket.
"Klaus is coming," Elena said quietly, her voice carrying none of its earlier strength. "Are we really ready for this?"
I considered the question seriously. My clone network, growing stronger daily. Alliances with Pearl's vampires, Rose and Trevor, the Salvatores, and now Elijah himself. Bonnie's expanding magical power. Caroline's fierce loyalty. The human allies who'd proven themselves capable of facing supernatural threats.
"As ready as we'll ever be," I said finally. "And when Klaus arrives, we won't be facing him alone."
Bonnie leaned against the porch railing, exhaustion still visible in the set of her shoulders. "You know what I realized tonight?"
"What?"
"We're not just trying to survive anymore. We're actually fighting back." She smiled, and for a moment she looked like the scared teenager who'd accidentally lit candles with her mind months ago. "Grams would be proud."
"She would be," I agreed. "You're becoming exactly what she knew you could be."
Elena was quiet for a long moment, then reached out to squeeze both our hands.
"Whatever happens with Klaus," she said, "we face it together. All of us."
"Together," Bonnie echoed.
"Together," I confirmed, feeling the weight of that promise settle into my bones.
Because when Klaus Mikaelson arrived in Mystic Falls, he wouldn't be facing a scattered group of frightened teenagers. He'd be facing an alliance built on trust, tested by fire, and united by the simple determination to protect the people they loved.
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